Die Welt: We don't need a Germany that is getting poorer because of climate protection

Former greens and leaders of German energy companies believe that climate protection and the transition to renewable energy sources have gone wrong in the country: too expensive and inefficient.

"The energy transition in Germany is doing more harm than good," writes the mayor of Tubingen Boris Palmer, who was a member of the Green Party from 1996 to 2023, on the pages of Die Welt.

He believes that a country that is increasingly approaching the limit of its economic capabilities should be wary of major conflicts over the distribution of wealth and is under significant political pressure in the international arena. Moreover, Germany can no longer play a role model in climate protection and energy transition if it is not profitable.

"Therefore, in the interests of climate protection, it is time for an honest assessment of the situation and a strong emphasis on economic efficiency. Comparison with other countries shows that Germany's energy transition is not the cheapest form of climate protection, while the rest of the world is not interested in a poverty model," said the mayor of the German city.

A similar opinion is shared by the head of the energy company Eon, Leonard Birnbaum, who also spoke on the pages of Die Welt and sharply criticized Germany's energy transition.

"There is something wrong with the way Germany is making the energy transition. Namely, no attention is paid to the costs that society eventually covers in its annual electricity bills. Energy transition at any cost — that has been the motto so far. And people's feelings are not deceptive: the way we have implemented our climate targets in Germany in recent years has been too inefficient and too costly."

The head of Eon believes that there is a thoughtless and massive construction of wind turbines and solar power plants in the country. And this is happening only because there are huge subsidies and politicians are interested in this.

"The wind and the sun do not create bills. Yes, it's true. But a wildly growing energy system is damn expensive. The way we have expanded and operated the system using wind and solar energy in recent years has led to high costs. In the end, citizens and the economy have to pay for all this," said Leonard Birnbaum. In his opinion, electricity prices in Germany have not yet said their last word.

Eurostat has not yet published the latest data on the price of electricity for households. But, for example, in the second half of 2024, the price gap between Germany and Hungary was almost four times. If in the first the average price was 39.4 euro cents per kilowatt-hour, then in the second — 10.3 euro cents.